Calliope's Afterlife Support Group
by Erimea-KnightofDoom
Summary: After everything that happened in [S] GAME OVER, some characters seriously need a break. And maybe mild therapy? Callie and Jade do their best to help.
1. Chapter 1: Karkat

**So I was gonna write about Teen Wolf for NaNoWriMo, but then Homestuck happened and TW went out the window. So now I'm just uploading as I go along, and hoping that I end up with enough material to hit the word count! **

"We're not gonna hug it out this time bro, I'll tell you that much right fucking now!" How could he? He had Terezi, he was hurting her, how dare he! Karkat couldn't think straight. He was filled with oh so familiar rage, and all of it was directed at Gamzee. He was terrified out of his mind that Gamzee might kill her before he got there. He had to run. He had to just keep running, get there as fast as he could. Only later would he realise he'd overtaken Kanaya, even with her drinker speed. Karkat hesitated a moment - this was Gamzee. His former moirail. He still cared for the kid, even if he was batshit insane - and then jumped, ready to kill.

White hot pain shot through him. Karkat barely had time to register it, before Gamzee pulled back and stabbed him again with Terezi's cane. He didn't notice he'd dropped his sickle. He didn't realise what was behind him, that Gamzee had pushed him, until he was falling.

Karkat's vision was already starting to fade from blood loss, but he could see Gamzee at the top of the cliff, red rage in his eyes. And then he hit the lava. It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt. He reached his hand up in a last ditch survival attempt, but everything was already darkening, disappearing, gone.

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><p>Callie wasn't sure how to react. She and Jade had been all alone in the void, when suddenly everything changed colour, and a troll (an actual troll!) appeared from the darkness, stumbled in, and landed face first on the floor.<p>

"Karkat?" Jade asked, pushing herself off the stage and running forward to help.  
>A groan.<br>"Are you okay?"  
>A more irritated sounding groan.<br>"... What happened to you?"  
>Karkat pushed himself up onto his elbows. His eyes were blank.<br>"Gamzee."

Callie recognised him now. He was one of the companions of the author of her tome, the mysterious RL. She didn't recognise the name Gamzee, though. Potentially a new enemy? Or maybe someone who'd been redacted from the journal? She realised she'd been zoning out of the conversation, and this actually interested her.

"So then Kanaya and I finally got to where the action was but... Gamzee was hurting Terezi and I... He was going to kill her! I had to do something! And...he..." Karkat swallowed hard, clearly too traumatised to continue his story. Jade just nodded understandingly. "It's okay. You're safe now." "I'm dead, Jade." "It's really not as bad as it seems, you know. It's kinda fun!" Calliope stepped from the shadows. "Karkat, this is Callie!" Jade said, introducing the two. "You're a...limeblood?" Karkat asked, confused. "I thought they all went extinct." "They...did." Callie explained, blushing. "I'm not actually a troll. But I love your culture, and I'd much rather look like this if you don't mind."

Karkat shrugged, staring at nothing in particular. Jade and Calliope looked at each other, then decided it was probably best to give him some space. Jade desperately wanted to ask if he knew what had happened to her - was she dead or asleep? But it was probably best to wait. Karkat didn't look at all up to answering questions at the moment. Not long after, however, the hue of the void once again shifted.

"Woah, what's happening?" Karkat asked nervously. Jade assured him it was okay, that it meant someone else was joining them. "Fuck. Does that mean that asshole killed more people? Fuck. What if it was Terezi? Or Kanaya? Or-" "Karkat, calm down! There's nothing you can do about it. You just have to wait and see."


	2. Chapter 2: Jake

**Oh my god, this chapter was so hard to write... so I ended up procrastinating with other chapters. Hopefully that means it won't take as long to update next time!**

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><p>Jake wasn't sure of what was transpiring between the two trolls, but when the impact of the building breaking in two sent him flying away from the lava, he knew what he saw on the roof. Aranea pointing a sword at Jane. Time seemed to slow down, stretching to infinity. He couldn't let Jane die. He cared about her too much. Even though he'd totally messed up their friendship, and she probably hated him, he had to do something. Maybe if he could save her it would change something. With his god tier powers, it took him no time to scale the wall, and he reached the top just in time to jump in front, to protect Jane. He could see the sword heading towards him in slow motion. Oh god he was terrified. But he was doing something about it. For the first time in his life, he was doing something to help. Was it worth it?<p>

Pain. It exploded in his stomach, a pain so sharp he wanted to scream, to black out, to never feel anything again. He was thrown high into the air by Aranea, and the pain increased to an intolerable level. At least it wasn't Jane, he thought, as the world faded to black.

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><p>Jake woke up. He seemed to be in a weird void-y place. There was nothing around as far as he could see. Nothing but the coloured path he was standing on. To glowed really brightly. What was it even made of? Jake stood up, and began to follow the path.<p>

How did he get here? He couldn't remember anything. It was all too fuzzy. What was he doing before this? They were going to play a game? No, they did that. Months had passed since that. So then what? It hurt Jake's head to think about.

Then a voice came from behind him.

"Jake?"

Jake turned around.

"Jane?"

She was standing there, nervous and unsure, wearing her god tier outfit. Jake looked down and realized he was still dressed in embarrassingly short shorts. So they had reached god tier, then, he knew that. But what had happened to them?

"Do you know where we are?" she asked tentatively.

"Unfortunately not." Jake replied. "Do you remember anything?"

She shook her head.

"I guess we just have to press forward, then."

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><p>They hadn't been walking for long when the path seemed to spiral in on itself and blurry figures began to take shape out of the nothingness. Neither had said a word to each other since that first exchange. Jake may not remember anything, but he could sense the awkwardness between them. However, some recent events were hovering on the edge of his memory, and he had a feeling that this was his fault. What had he done?<p>

The blurriness had finally condensed into a stage, a rather odd thing to be sitting in the void. There were two trolls there, who he didn't recognize. And was that... Was that Jade?

"Jade!" Jake shouted. She turned, and seemed to recognise him.

"Jake!" She said excitedly, running over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I can't remember anything."

Jade nodded sympathetically.

"Me neither. But it's so great to actually meet you! After writing for so long, it's strange to hear your voice."

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><p>As Jade and Jake continued to catch up and talk about robots or something, Jane turned her attention to the other two present. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew who one of them was, and she was going to test it.<p>

"Excuse me? Are you... are you Calliope?"

The female troll turned, blushing green when she saw Jane.

"Well, yes, I am!"

"How are you? We never heard from you once we entered the game. It would have been nice if we could have played together like we planned."

"Yes, I know. Sadly, that outcome would never have happened. But at least I'm now getting to meet you! I'd read so much about your session, it's strange seeing you in person."

"It's great to see your face, though." Jane sighed. "So much happened, it would have been nice to have a friend to talk to. Besides Roxy, of course."

"Quite."

The room quietened as both conversations came to an end. Then, without warning, Karkat cut through the silence.

"Well, this is great! Really, it is. But does anyone want to explain what's actually going on? Who are you guys? Are you dead? Is this a dream bubble? Because it doesn't look like any bubble I've ever seen. So where the fuck are we?"

At this, Jane and Jake seemed to notice Karkat for the first time. Calliope did her best to answer.

"Um... well, I was the first one here. I know I'm dead. And you evidently are as well. But as for Jane, Jade and Jake, we won't know until they remember. I don't know where we are. I just appeared here when I died. It looks to be somewhere in the void? But I think it's for the best we don't know. Otherwise, my brother could find me."

Jade couldn't wait any longer for an answer. "Karkat, do you know what happened to me? Am I dead or asleep?"

Karkat looked at the ground. "Well, I don't know for sure, but... last time I saw you it was in the forest on LoFaF. You were being carried by Jack. Dave was chasing you. So...you could be still alive? As for the other two, I haven't got a clue. I've never seen you before. If you were on LoFaF, though, it's probably not good. Last I remember, the empress showed up. And the empress is not someone you want to fuck with."


	3. Chapter 3: Dave

**I hate my internet...**

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><p>Dave knew what he was doing was stupid. He knew he had no chance against one dog by themselves, let alone two. But he had to do something. Jade was dead. The girl back there could revive her. So he had to try.<p>

He chased the dogs up to Jade's quest bed, where they dropped her. Were they- didn't they realise that wouldn't work? Dave had a perfectly good solution sitting back there by the lava. But they refused to let her go.

Stupid dogs.

Fine. Then he'd get her back himself.

A voice in the back of his head told him to get out, this was gonna kill him, 100% fucking guaranteed. He tuned it out. This was for Jade.

At first, the dogs seemed to be holding back. He shouldn't have been able to take on one, let alone two. They weren't using their green sun powers at all. Maybe it didn't work in this universe? Dave didn't fucking know, space was Jade's forte. And speaking of which…

Dave had very nearly reached for his time tables. After three years of sitting around on his ass, he was surprised to find time travelling was still instinctual. But he refused to get stuck in all that bullshit again. So he kept fighting.

Parrying two swords was difficult under normal circumstances. When his opponents were both omnipotent psycho dogs, all it took was one slip and-

The white dog's sword pierced his chest. And not a second later, Jack impaled him from behind. That really was his fucking signature move, wasn't it.

Dave couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The pain was overwhelming. He could taste blood in his mouth. The sword slipped from his grip. Dave didn't register it. Both dogs withdrew their swords, and with nothing to keep him upright anymore, Dave was falling.

He barely noticed hitting the stone slab. It didn't hurt anymore. Everything was numb. But he could feel the cold. It invaded every inch of him, draining his life away. It was like the blood pouring out of the two wounds in his chest was taking his body heat with it. Fuck, it probably was. Dave didn't care. This was the end for him. He wasn't gonna recover. There were worse ways to die.

And so, lying on Jade's quest bed, death tugging at his mind, Dave let go.

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><p>"The empress?" Jake asked.<p>

"Yeah. Our empress. Seadweller, ruler of the troll race and conqueror of the galaxy? Although really just adult Meenah now I think about it... badass as fuck either way, though."

"Wait... you mean the Batterwitch? Jane's great grandmother? But...she's evil!"

"Sure, if you want to look at it that way. I personally respect her for all her achievements. But what do you mean Jane's great grandmother? She's not a human."

"She invaded earth, and started Crockercorp, this baking company that was actually a front for her evil plans. She then slowly took over the government and-" Jake noticed the look Karkat was giving him. "I'll stop."

"Um, guys?" Jane interjected, pointing at the void.

"Dave!" Jade exclaimed, rushing to hug him. "It's so good to see you after all this time! What happened, do you know?"

"Woah, okay Harley, tone down the heartfelt reunion," Dave said, but there was a smile in his voice. "I ain't got a clue what happened, though."

His smile dropped as he looked around. "And Karkat's here. And apparently dead. Yo, bro, you okay? How did things go to shit so quickly?"

Karkat didn't say anything.

Then it hit Dave.

"I'm dead, aren't I."

"I don't know that for sure. Last I saw you were in the forest on LoFaF."

"But it's pretty fucking likely, isn't it. Considering everything else going down on LoFaF."

"Dave?" Jade asked. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Jack and White Jack had you. I was trying to get you back. And... fuck."

"Does that mean I'm dead?"

"What do you remember?"

"I remember our ship landing. I remember going to meet Jane and Jake. But I can't remember anything after that."

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but Karkat cut him off.

"You went Grimdark, Jade. Or grimbark. Whatever."

It was that comment that opened the floodgates. Jane, already so close to figuring it out, remembered everything that had happened. The mention of grimbark Jade spurred Jane and Jake's memories. Three pairs of eyes turned white.


	4. Chapter 4: Kanaya

**So that update... This isn't technically an AU yet, but the way Homestuck's going, it's getting there. Ah well, I was always gonna work around the updates as best I can and if it ends up an AU, it'll be an awesome one!**

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><p>She'd won this battle. But the war was far from over.<p>

The first thing she did was check to see if Terezi was alright. Well, alive anyway. She doubted any of them were alright after the death of Karkat. He had kept mostly to himself over their time on the meteor, but he was still Kanaya's friend, and she loved him. And now he was gone.

With everything that had happened to Terezi lately, Kanaya feared Karkat's death would be more than she could handle. But Terezi was stronger than she looked. And for now, she was alive. That was all Kanaya could ask for.

It was then that they both heard the rumbling noise. Turning, Kanaya saw Her Condescension in the sky, destroying everything in her path. They were next. Kanaya didn't have time to think. Using her drinker speed, she pushed Terezi out of the way of the beam, but she wasn't fast enough to save herself. Psionic energy engulfed her. "I'm sorry, Rose," she thought, and then she was gone.

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><p>Jade remembered going grimbark, and fighting Jake's hope state.<p>

Jake remembered jumping in front of a sword to save Jane's life.

Jane remembered everything she'd done under the influence of the Condesce.

Locking Jake up. Threatening him.

Killing him.

Oh god. He wouldn't meet her eye. He must hate her for what she did! And everything that came before it, it was her fault they became tricksters. It was she who had yelled at him for being an ignorant asshole, when she was the one who had said no when he asked her if she loved him. How could she ever expect him to forgive her? How could she forgive herself?

Jake was grateful that Jane was asleep when they died. He didn't know how she would react if she knew he'd killed himself trying to save her. And then he failed anyway! He let her die. And after everything he'd done... He'd ignored her for five months, except to torment her with his and Dirk's relationship. How could he not have seen he was hurting her feelings? And it was her birthday, on top of everything. She must hate him!

Jade wasn't proud of her time spent Grimbark. But Jade was, and forever would be, an optimist. She was gonna try to help fix things, in whatever way she could. The afterlife might actually be fun!

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><p>The afterlife was not fun. It had taken Jade forever to get the whole story out of Dave, and once she did, she was furious.<p>

"Why would you do that? I wasn't in any danger! I was already dead!"

Dave's face remained impassive, as always.

"If I got you back to Jane, she could have revived you."

"But you know you can't beat Jack! None of us can! And there were two of him! What were you hoping to gain? Are you that desperate to be a hero, you had to die as one?"

Dave's mouth opened slightly.

"I'm not a hero."

"Tell that to the game next time. Preferably before you go and die a heroic death."

Jade sighed. "Still... I'm glad you're here," she said with a small smile.

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><p>Kanaya had always been quick to figure things out. When she woke up in the void, she knew she was either dead or asleep. All she had to do was follow the memories to something she recognized. Walking down the narrow path, Kanaya didn't pay much attention to where she was going. Their meteor had landed, yes. She and Karkat had been separated from the others, and transported to LoFaF. What had separated them? Who had appeared on the meteor? The other space player. Grimbark Jade. They had been in the forest. Jane had killed Karkat, then brought him back to life. She'd been given a task, which she'd ignored. And then they saw her. The Condesce, in her battleship. And Gamzee...<p>

Gamzee had been attacking Terezi. He'd almost killed her, and then-

Kanaya remembered.

Looking up with now blank eyes, she saw a stage forming in front of her. Shadows took shape into people, and then she was standing in the middle of her friends.

"Kanaya!" Karkat shouted, running over to her. "What happened? Was it Gamzee? Did he get you too? Is Terezi okay?"

"Karkat, calm down!" Kanaya replied, grabbing his arms to keep him from barreling into her. "Terezi's fine, as far as I know. Despite everything, she's strong, you know she is. She'll pull through." She paused. "I took care of Gamzee. No, it was the Condesce who killed me. She destroyed everything with her stolen psionics."

Karkat was silent for a moment.

"Did you kill him?"

This made Kanaya angrier.

"Karkat, you can't possibly feel sympathy for him? Think of everyone he killed! You included! And what about what he did to Terezi?"

"I know, I know, just... He was a terrible moirail, but he was still my moirail. At least for a long time anyway. So even though he deserved it... I don't think I actually wanted him to die. ...Hey, are you okay?" Karkat asked, noticing her sullen mood for the first time.

"No."


	5. Chapter 5: Rose

**Yeah okay this is now an AU. Also this chapter is almost the same size as the rest of the fic put together, I didn't plan it that way, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it. (Which is why it took so long. Also because I've been prioritizing other things.)**

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><p>Rose didn't care anymore.<p>

Kanaya was dead. All of her friends were dead.

From her vantage point, she'd seen everything. Terezi and Gamzee fighting. Karkat and Kanaya running. Gamzee stabbing Karkat twice. Karkat falling into the lava. She hadn't known Karkat that well, but he was her friend, and it hurt her to see him die. Kanaya killing Gamzee.

She considered that a win if anything, she never liked the guy.

But then Aranea aimed a sword at teenage nanna Egbert. She was going to kill her. And then teenage grandpa Harley jumped in front.

They were both god tier, but that didn't matter. One had turned dark, and the other... Well, there couldn't be a more heroic death if he tried.

Both of them fell down to the blocks of building in the lava, drawing her attention back to Kanaya and Terezi - just as a psiioniic beam came from above. Kanaya pushed Terezi out of the way, but she was caught in it.

No.

NO!

It was the Empress' fault. All of it. For taking Kanaya away from her. She didn't expect to win this fight. She didn't want to. All she wanted to do was attack the troll queen, and make her pay.

Through her blinding fury, she barely noticed the trident heading towards her until it speared her in the chest. Her vision was fading. She was ready for the end. But then warm hands grabbed her from behind and she was disappearing into the void.

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><p>When she awoke again, she was surprised at what she found. She was expecting a dream bubble, or maybe just somewhere in the void.<p>

She was not expecting to wake up on the land of Pyramids and Helium, a gaping hole in her chest and her mother looking down at her.

"W-What... happened to me?" Rose asked, confused.

"The witch got you with her fork," her mom replied. "But you're gonna be okay."

Rose remembered now. It was obvious Mom was just trying to make her feel better. But Rose no longer cared. Kanaya was gone.

"Oh. That's nice." She coughed, trying to rid her throat of the blood blocking it.

"Maybe you uh... shouldn't try to talk, now." It was obvious her mother was on the verge of tears. Rose hadn't wanted them to meet like this. She tried for reassurance.

"You saved me, didn't you?"

Rose wasn't very good at reassurance.

"Thanks. But... She's gone, isn't she. For good, I mean." Why had she always been drinking? She had wasted the precious time she and Kanaya had left!

"I saw her die, and... it's a shame how..." Why couldn't she find the words? "A shame that I never even..." Speaking was difficult now. "Got to tell her... I loved her." At least she had said it. But it was too little too late.

"Who?"

"Kanaya. But..." Rose had one other regret. "You too, mom. You too."

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><p>Callie felt like a catastrophe. She was finally meeting her heroes - the characters she'd read about all her life - and they were in shambles. Between awkward relationships and traumatic deaths, no one knew what to say, if they could even find the courage to speak. Jane and Jake weren't meeting each others' eye. Kanaya seemed to be in a scarily bad mood, but Karkat wouldn't let go of her. Dave was sitting by himself behind the stage. Jade was exhausted.<p>

Calliope had never talked to another person face to face in her life. But now, she decided, she would. Someone had to get these ghosts in order.

"Alright!" she said, standing up on the stage. A few heads turned towards her. "I officially declare Calliope's Afterlife Support Group to be in session!"

This didn't have the dramatic effect she'd intended. Everyone just sort of looked at her. Calliope had never felt this self conscious. But she'd made it this far.

"So, we're all dead. Horribly betrayed. And stuck in the void for an indetermined amount of time. That's the bad news. But it doesn't have to be all bad news! Jade and I were having fun before. If we can just let go of our problems, the afterlife can't be too bad!"

"It's a great idea, Callie," Jade responded. "But getting everyone to push past their problems isn't as easy as it sounds."

"Well, how do you feel about it?"

Jade thought for a moment.

"I guess I'm not sure. I liked being alive. But the part of me that was Jadesprite spent a long time in the dream bubbles after she died. And she made a lot of friends! So it can't be all bad. And almost all my friends are here now anyway." She finished with a reassuring, but not altogether convincing smile. It was obvious she didn't know what to do next any more than the rest of them.

"No downside, is there?" Another voice drifted gloomily from behind the stage. "Because they're either alive, or they're here. Unless, of course, they're in a dream bubble, we failed horribly and nothing else matters?"

"Dave, that isn't helping."

"Yeah, well, I'm done with helping. Where did that get me? Fucking dead."

"Well, no one asked you to go on a stupid quest to save me, did they? Maybe if you had thought things through, you might actually be useful!" There was a growl to Jade's voice now. Even Dave's mask was slipping.

"Well maybe if you'd had a bit more common sense, you wouldn't have died in the first place!"

"How is that not exactly the problem with you?"

"Um...Jade?" Jake cut in.

"What?" She snapped.

"I appreciate that you and Mr Strider here have had a bit of a falling out, but perhaps you could maybe try to settle your differences and move on? I'm sure both of you were doing what you thought was right."

"And what would you know? I'm sure you and your 'Mr Strider' get along fantastically! Like father, like son, right?"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Jane said, joining the argument for the first time. "You can't bring Dirk into this, or blame Jake for trying to help!"

Jake looked stunned by her outburst. He appeared to be struggling to form a coherent sentence.

"But...Jane...You... Why would you defend me? I thought you hated me. _Especially _after everything that happened between Dirk and I."

Jade looked unsure of whether to say something or leave them be. Dave had taken the opportunity to retreat from the conversation again.

Jane seemed to be regretting her decision to speak. She hadn't spoken to Jake in a long time, and so much had happened since then. What could she say? Lying to Jake had never helped, but then again neither had telling the truth.

"Jake... I don't hate you. I don't know if I should or not, but I don't." She sighed. How many times had she had this conversation with Jake in her head? It wasn't going the way she'd planned. The last thing she wanted to make him do was feel bad. But hadn't all this come from not getting the respect she deserved?

"I liked you for a long time, and you never got it. And that made me angry. But I don't hate you, Jake. You're still my friend, even if you acted like an asshole. And after everything I did to you? Shouldn't you be hating me? I locked you up. I threatened you. I... Jake, I killed you!"

"Hold on a minute, Jane, you can't blame yourself for that! That was my... wait. What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When you say you killed me..."

"Back on LoFaF. When I was being controlled by the Batterwitch. And you were in the middle of your hope field. You were wrecking the empress' plans, so I... I threw a fork at you. But it wasn't supposed to kill you permanently! You were a god tier, so I figured you'd just come back to life. But now I feel awful..."

"But I did come back to life!"

"Then how are you here?"

Jake considered telling her everything, but decided against it.

"It doesn't matter, Janey. But like you said, you were being controlled by the Batterwitch! So none of that was your fault, you have to know that!"

"But what about everything else I did? Trickster mode, that was all my fault! And I yelled at you, and I thought it would help but it didn't, and it just made both of us miserable."

"Jane, I'm sorry. So much of that was because of me. From now on, I promise I'll be a better person. I'm sorry I was so ignorant. You never got the respect you deserved. But we're both dead now, so... do you think we could try again from the beginning?"

Jane was crying now. She looked at him tentatively, then rushed to hug him. He stumbled slightly as she barreled into him, but caught himself, returning the hug."

"Man, what even happened between you two?" Jade asked.

The two looked at each other, then, despite everything, started laughing.

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><p>Kanaya had been pretty much acting as a lusus to Karkat since she arrived in the void, but at least it gave her something to do. And Karkat definitely needed her help. She had a lot of pent up emotions, but Kanaya was everyone's pillar, she was used to putting their problems over hers. She just filed them to the back like she always did, and focused on Karkat. He was still spacing out, only having moments of lucidity every now and then. She couldn't blame him. She'd seen how he died. Having his former moirail kill him was traumatizing enough, but watching his flesh melt right in front of him? That was brutal.<p>

This must be a doomed timeline. Surely the alpha timeline wouldn't have resulted in this many dead? Of their session, only Terezi remained, and there couldn't be more than four humans alive either. She missed Rose. Of course, she didn't want her dead, but she wished Rose were with her nonetheless. At least before she got drunk all the time, Rose was the one person Kanaya didn't have to mother.

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><p>Rose was nervous. No one had noticed her yet, hovering on the edge of the ring of light. Last time she and Kanaya had talked she was drunk off her ass, as she'd been pretty much every time they talked in the past few years. She didn't know how Kanaya would react. She wanted a drink. But as far as she knew, alcohol didn't exist in the afterlife. And that wouldn't have helped the situation anyway.<p>

She just had to go for it. It was gonna happen eventually, she couldn't stay here for all eternity. Literally all eternity, now they were dead.

No, she couldn't do it. She'd go back, find a way to avoid them all, she couldn't face them, she-

No.

She had to.

Rose took a deep breath and stepped into the circle.

Kanaya noticed her immediately. Her face was a conflict of emotions, but it was evident she couldn't move as Karkat was using her as a pillow. Eventually everyone else in the room started to notice of her, cries of "Rose!" going up across the circle. Rose didn't know what to do. She was trapped where she was, not taking her eyes off Kanaya, as everyone else came up to greet her.

Rose pushed them off. Kanaya was still looking at her, she didn't want to spoil this moment by disappearing into a conversation with someone else. Now was the chance to put everything right.

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><p>Kanaya saw Rose walking towards her. She wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that she was here. She was grateful to see her, but Rose being here meant she was dead, which made Kanaya sad, and slightly disappointed. But clearly this conversation couldn't be avoided.<p>

She pushed Karkat off her slightly. "Karkat?"

A muffled "Hmm?"

"I need you to get off me. I have to go deal with my matesprit."

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><p>Rose saw Kanaya get up, and take a few steps until they were standing face to face. Neither was sure what to say.<p>

Kanaya made the first move.

"Rose."

"Kanaya."

"You're here, then."

Rose paused, hearing all the implications in that, every emotion Kanaya was feeling at seeing her. God, she had missed Kanaya.

"It's good to see you."

A pause.

"I'm sorry."

Kanaya just hugged her. It was a hug that meant "I'm glad you're here", and "I've missed you, too."

And that was enough.


	6. Chapter 6: Terezi

**Oh god I took so long to update I'm sorry! (Exactly a month, would you look at that.) Next multi-chapter fic I write, I am making sure I write the ending first.**

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><p>"We make our own luck."<p>

"And you're about to prove that."

* * *

><p>Rose was all for the idea of an afterlife support group, and not long after, at her request, everyone was sitting in a circle on the floor, even Dave, reluctant as he was. Rose remembered being a child, and reading all about psychology. It was a lot different when it involved actual problems.<p>

When Calliope started asking questions about what had happened to them, Rose had a sneaking suspicion she was at least partly motivated by her desire to know the rest of the story. But she evidently cared for the post-scratch kids a great deal, so Rose let it slide. She was hardly one to judge.

"So who was there on LoFaF? Besides from those present, of course."

Everyone tried to account for their missing friends.

"Roxy was..." Jane answered. "Was Dirk?"

Jade looked slightly embarrassed. "I transported Dirk to the furthest ring. Whether he's made his way back by now, I'm not sure. John's been zapping in and out of spacetime for a while. I'm not sure if he's there either."

"Terezi..." mumbled Karkat, mostly to himself. Realising everyone had heard him, he added "Terezi was there. And so was Gamzee. But..."

"I killed Gamzee." finished Kanaya.

This was ominous to the group, as he was the only one allegedly dead, but not sitting there in the circle with them. Still, they put it past them, as most were glad he wasn't there, and it wasn't like he could do much damage now.

"And Kanaya, what happened to you?" Calliope asked.

"Our esteemed empress." was her only reply, her tone suggesting the matter was not open for discussion.

"So, as far as I can tell, there were three distinct battles going on here." Callie said, both in an attempt to summarise what she'd learned and change the subject. "That between the trolls, that of Jade, Dave, and the two ring-holding carapacians, and that of the post-scratch heroes. Jane? Jake?"

"I don't really remember much of what happened after Aranea visited me in that derse prison." Jake admitted.

"Aranea?" Rose sounded surprised. "She was responsible for your hope state?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"When I got to LOFAF I saw her fighting Dirk. But he asked me to get Mom- Roxy out of the way, so I did."

Now it was Jade's turn to be confused. "But... it would have taken him hours to get back from the furthest ring! So how could he have been fighting Aranea?"

Jane and Jake spoke in unison.

"Brain Ghost Dirk."

"Brain...Ghost Dirk?"

"Long story."

"Okay..." Jade responded, still sounding bemused.

"Aranea was definitely causing trouble." Jane said. But as to what happened... I... I don't know. I think I must have been asleep when I died. I don't remember anything past waiting by the lava for Dirk's bro. I mean, Dave."

"But you and Jake appeared here at the same time. Jake, do you know anything?"

And, just like that, Jane noticed, Jake wouldn't meet her eyes again. He evidently knew exactly what had happened, and looked pretty self conscious about it. Had she done something she couldn't remember?

Rose, of course, knew exactly what had happened. But Jake was evidently uncomfortable with it. She didn't know what had gone down between the post-scratch kids, but she thought whatever it was, Jane should know what Jake had done for her.

"Jake?" Calliope asked again, slightly missing Jake's discomfort.

"Um...I'm..I'm not sure." He spoke the last part slightly too quickly.

Rose stood up.

"Jake, can I talk to you? In private?"

Jake looked terrified of her, but he obliged. Kanaya gave her a strange look. Rose led Jake behind the stage.

"Okay, look. I don't know you or Jane, or what went down between you, but why won't you tell her what you did? I saw it, you can't pretend you didn't. She should know you saved her."

"But I didn't save her! I tried to, but I failed. So what's the point?"

"Does she know you care that much about her?"

"No. She... She thought I hated her."

"Do you?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then don't you think she should know?"

Jake sighed.

"I... I don't know how to tell her. She'll think I just did it for sympathy, or to make up for all the times I hurt her. I don't want her to auto-forgive me, she deserves more than that. I just want us to be friends again."

"Do you want me to tell her?"

"No! ...I don't know. I don't want to hurt her by being a coward again. But I don't know which choice would save me from that. God, I'm such an idiot!"

* * *

><p>Jane looked dubiously at Calliope. Jake and Rose weren't being nearly as quiet as they thought they were. Granted, she couldn't make out the majority of what was actually being said, but it sounded like yet another Lalonde was being subjected to the Jake self-loathing treatment.<p>

She sighed.

Jake was a goddamn enigma, to quote Roxy. She still didn't know how she felt about him or what to say to him. And now that they were both dead, things should be easier, but somehow she knew even less.

The other members of the circle just didn't quite know what to do. Dave had once more taken up his couldn't-care-less façade, though there was still a tension between him and Jade.

Rose and Jake returned to the circle. Dave pulled his sister down next to him. Jake took a glance at where he was sitting before besides Jane, then decided to take a seat by Calliope instead, and started talking to her about her backstory, where she'd been for five months, and the like.

Jane couldn't help but feel like he was avoiding her. Was it still because of everything she'd done under the Batterwitch's influence?

She turned to her alternate universe biological daughter.

"Hey, Jade...?"

"Yeah?"

"Everything you did under the Batterwitch's influence... how do you deal with that?"

"Jane, you can't think of it that way. It'll just make you feel horrible, trust me. You have to accept that it wasn't you doing all those things. Just like Grimbark Jade isn't me."

"But it was me! Maybe I had different motives, but everything I did was my plan, my idea. My... my fault."

"Hey, Jane. Look at me? It wasn't your fault. It was the Condesce."

"But how can I ever forgive myself for the things I decided to do? I... it was me who killed Jake!"

Jade gave her a grim look, like she was remembering something. But this caught the attention of the kid in question. Jake broke off his conversation with Callie to come over to them. He seemed nervous. Was it because of her?

"Jane, I... I didn't die because of you."

"What?"

"When I died in the hope state, I woke up from that. I guess dying that way was one of the conditions of our immortality as god tiers? But I guess I got myself killed anyway."

"Jake, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that... I don't know. I'm saying that I used to think I understood people but I really don't, and that whatever I try to do I end up hurting people. I end up hurting you. And I don't want to do that again, ever. But I don't think I can guarantee you that. But keeping secrets never helped either of us, so I guess I'm saying that... I saw the fight between you and Aranea. I saw her pointing Dirk's sword at you. And I guess I kinda... got in the way?"

"Jake..."

"I'm sorry. It was stupid, I know. I just... I couldn't let you die! But now I guess it was all pointless anyway."

"No, Jake... Jake..." Tears were welling in her eyes again. "Thank you."

"Wait what? You're not mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not mad at you, dummy!" She giggled softly to herself. "I guess you actually were the movie action hero you always wanted to be."

"So does that mean we're okay now? Do you think we could start again?"

"Alright, Jake. We're dead now, so you get one fresh start. You had better not blow it."

Jake gave a mock salute.

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

><p>Terezi found herself in what she figured was probably some form of dream bubble. She had done it. She had found her mind powers again, and given Egbert enough instructions that even he should be able to fix the timeline again. Now she had to find her friends.<p>

Soon after she came to a wide ring of light, and people and objects started to form from the void. Everyone was there. Sitting in a circle like wigglers, some talking, some not. Karkat... She had missed him. After he died, and then Kanaya... she had been so scared she'd never see them again. And now they were all here. Seeing them talking, and smiling for once, she wasn't sure whether to feel happy or sad.

But she hadn't come here for endings. She'd come for beginnings. They wouldn't be here long. She plowed forward.

* * *

><p>Everyone broke off as Karkat stood up, his sight fixed on something in the distance.<p>

"Terezi?" Karkat was clearly conflicted, his face a raging storm of guilt and longing, sadness and relief.

Terezi just met him with a small smile.

"It's okay, Karkat. Everything's gonna be okay. John and I did it. We figured out how to use our powers. And now he's gonna fix the timeline, so none of this ever happened. It won't even be a doomed timeline."

"But we'll still be here forever, won't we?"

"I don't think so. I think if we were, we'd be in a dream bubble by now. I think this is only temporary."

Seeing her with renewed hope, Karkat was reminded of the Terezi he used to know. The one he fell in love with, before she started spiraling.

"So things will go back to normal?"

"Better, Karkat. Things will be even better."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was fun. Well, it was fun at the beginning. And then I was like "How the hell do I ending?"<strong>

**But for all of you who stuck with me to the end - Thanks :D**


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